Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano & Corojo
Filler: Nicaragua Criollo ’98 and Corojo ’96
Size: 5.5 x 43 “Sea Sprite”
Body: Full
Price: $7.50

This cigar has been smoked by everyone. I even reviewed it while working for an online cigar store back in August of 2012.
I thought it was time to try it again.

The cigar was brought to fruition by the Miami Cigar Co. They work with the best in the industry and Pepin Garcia and Nestor Miranda came up with this beaut.
I believe the cigar debuted at the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show.

I have the baby of the group here. But it appears that no matter the size of the cigar, the same sized cigar band is used. Therefore, while the cigar is only 5.5” long, the band takes up 3” of it. So it makes a stunning presentation. There is a “sub” band underneath the big, flamboyant band. I will show it to you shortly after lighting up the cigar.
I am staring at the cigar band and it must be the most ornate cigar band I’ve seen in a long time. It’s quite ornate and beautiful.

The cigar is in fine form. Solid, but not hard. Seams are fairly tight but there are some visible ones. The dark maduro wrapper makes it hard to discern the spider veins. The triple cap is nicely done. The maduro wrapper reeks of oil and the cigar feels toothy.

I clip the cap for the aroma portion and I smell what I smell in all Nicaraguans…cocoa, coffee, sweet tobacco, oak, and wood.
I light up.

The cigar gives me a blast of cocoa, not spice. And shortly after, here come da’ spice. The sweet tobacco is upfront. I’ve smoked so many Nicaraguans lately for reviews that I should just copy and paste the flavor profiles. While I certainly enjoy the wonderful flavor, they tend to just become the same cigar. The only difference in them is when the flavor bomb portion hits and when the strength changes.

So one needs to keep in mind that while so many Nics taste the same, price becomes the defining factor. In fact, I should make a list, in a future review, comparing Nicaraguan cigars with their price points; similarities and differences.

The Garcia blast is on full. That ever present spiciness is totally dominating the first inch of the cigar.

Flavors begin to show early. The cocoa, of course, and some coffee, a strong cedar presence. And some creaminess shows up very early. Earlier than most Nic cigars. The size of the cigar obviously has an impact on the intensity of the cigar flavor profile.

I am at loggers head with my desire to smoke a robusto or smaller cigar because of quicker aging and more intense flavors….and paying pretty much the same as a much bigger cigar in whatever line I happen to be smoking. I might pay $7 for the corona and $8 for the toro. Hardly seems balanced.
The cigar is a slow burner.

As the first third disappears, the flavors really show their stuff. And the body hits full. The first sign, for me, is that my hands begin to shake while I am typing. Not very helpful. I begin to type like a chimp. Or maybe a chimp types better.

Back in high school, I was the only boy in a typing class of 35 students. My mother insisted I learn to type since I’ve always enjoyed writing. She thought a little embarrassment early on, would serve me well in later life; especially college. You have no idea how much dough I made typing other fellow students’ papers for them. I can type, now, around 70 wpm. The only thing I never learned to do was type softly. I sound like a jack hammer when I type. The squirrels come to the dining room window and say, “Shhhh…”

The cigar is a delight. Who doesn’t love a Garcia/Miranda concoction? There is really nothing to criticize. These guys have it down pat. Garcia works with all the great New Breed of cigar blenders and he has the magic touch.

I slowly remove the giant band. Underneath, is a very small band, in blue and red that just says, “La Sirena.”
The char line has remained true and constant.

It’s a dreary day in Wisconsin and thunderstorms are approaching for the weekend and should be here soon. My wonderful light that streams through the dining room window is absent and unaccounted for. It is also very humid outside.

The cigar is a flavor bomb x 2. No flavors have been added and none taken away. The spiciness, in truth, has tamped down quite a bit and takes its place as third in line behind the creaminess and cocoa. The coffee taste is a mocha latte. I cannot taste much of the wood as the spiciness in the beginning pretty much sears away your taste buds.

The rest of the other 4 sizes see their price points hitting over $9.00. this is a very good cigar, but I believe the Miami Cigar Co. could be a little more compassionate with their pricing. This stick is good but there are a lot of $6-$7 cigars just as good. So buying this cigar becomes a treat; as opposed to something one would regularly keep in their humidor. $150-$170 for a box of 20 is a lot of dough. Most smokers will seek out 5 packs to treat themselves.

At the halfway point, the strength is at full bore. The flavors remain the same but don’t really become complex. This particular cigar has been humidor aging for around 6 months. So if it was going to be a complex cigar, it would be one by now.

The cigar relies on its powerful flavor profile. I’m guessing that a slightly bigger stick; like a robusto, might see more complexity that this corona.

I enter the last third and have enjoyed every bit of its natural Nicaraguan flavors. The Corojo and Criollo are giving this cigar its kick. And the Habano and Broadleaf tobaccos are giving the cigar its balance. The cigar also has a very long finish.

The sweetness becomes very syrupy. Like a topping on an ice cream sundae.

The last third sees the power of the red pepper boom. The tip of my tongue is tingling.

The cigar finds its last couple of inches really belting out flavor. The power of the cigar takes a giant leap. It is almost blinding in its strength.

Of course, I recommend this cigar. It is delicious from the first puffs and just gets better from there. My only wish is that the cigar was a bit less expensive.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS